A/N: And here is another chapter with lots of action for your reading pleasure.

Chapter 18: Army of Shadows: Attack on Goron City

Malon:

I was at the top of Goron City, my feet dangling over the edge of the pit. The Dimensional Sword was beside me. I had been unwilling to leave it lying there in the tunnel, so I had brought it with me. Via had been keeping me company as well, though she spent most of her time hiding under my hair, clinging to my neck.

I was looking out, staring at nothing, as I thought about everything that had been happening. I could not help but feel sorry for Cody. He was far from home and had a heavy responsibility placed on him. It was irresponsible of him to abandon the young girl, but…

To be honest, I was not sure what I should think anymore…

I heard footsteps approaching, but I did not bother to look up to see who it was. I was vaguely aware of someone sitting down beside me.

"How are you holding up?" Zelda asked me, dangling her feet over the edge as well.

I shrugged without answering.

"That good, huh?" Zelda asked, staring out across the pit as well.

I sighed, and then said, "I want to believe in Cody, but I have to admit, I'm having some doubts…"

"At least you're trying," Zelda said. "Unlike somebody we know…"

"I don't understand," I said. I was starting to feel really frustrated. "He just wants to go home! Why was he chosen!"

"Do you feel that he should not be here?" Zelda asked calmly.

"That's not what I meant…"

"Then what do you mean?" Zelda asked, turning to face me.

I turned to meet her gaze but then looked down. "To be honest, I don't really know myself…"

"Take your time."

I tried to gather my thoughts, trying to understand what I was feeling, "It's not that I don't want him here…" I began, a clearer picture starting to form in my head, "Far from it. I just wish that he was not forced to do this. I guess I wish that he was traveling with us because he wants to."

Zelda nodded, "I think that, deep down, Mr. Williams really does want to be here. He's scared of what's happening… what's going to happen… what may happen…. I'm starting to understand that the life he lived on his own world was much safer than the lives we've all lived here."

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that."

"Don't worry," Zelda told me, "I think Mr. Williams will come around… eventually."

"But he threw away his sword," I said, grabbing the Dimensional Sword and showing it to her. "He said that he was no hero. He said he was giving up…"

"It's hard to see now," Zelda said, looking a little sad, "but I have a feeling that Cody Williams is not done yet."

"I hope you're right Princess," I said, looking at Cody's abandoned weapon in my hand.

I was not looking at it for long…

A scream of terror echoed through the city. Zelda and I both sprang to our feet, looking around for the source of the sound. We turned to see a goron plummet off the side of the pit…

Standing where the goron had been was a shadowy figure. The figure was holding a sword similar to the Dimensional/Master Sword in its left hand. It wore a jacket and had glowing red eyes…

"It can't be…" I said, a feeling of dread spreading through me.

It was a shadowy apparition of Cody.

Zelda had already drawn her kodachi. I attached the Dimensional Sword's sheath to my belt and drew my bow. I did not fire any of my arrows on the way to Goron City, so my quiver had plenty.

All around us, we could hear cries of agonies and bellows of anger from the residents of the city. I took a cautious glance around and confirmed my fears. The Shadow Cody in front of us was not the only one in the city…

There were many more…

We were in trouble…

Due to all of the commotions, Via flew out from her hiding spot under my hair and glanced around nervously. "What's g-going on?"

"Via," Zelda said carefully, "I need you to deliver a message to Mr. Williams for me…"

The shadow in front of us cackled maniacally, and then charged us…

Cody:

The room that I hid myself in (yes, I admit it, I hid like a big chicken) was kind of strange considering that I was in a city. The room had a pool of lava in it. For some reason, I did not feel all that surprised.

I sat in a corner, hoping that nobody would come after me. I did not want to face anyone anymore. I was completely consumed by guilt. It was impossible to think of anything anymore except the little girl that I had almost let die. I could not believe that I was capable of doing something like that.

I decided that I was not going to leave Goron City. They did not need me after all; they only needed the Dimensional Sword. Maybe I could give them the Ocarina of Dimensions as well. That way they would definitely have everything that they need in order to defeat Malgum…

Malgum…

I had a very bad feeling about him. Another wave of guilt washed over me as I thought about the rest of the group having to face that maniac on their own. I pushed the thought away though. They would probably be able to fight him much better without me anyway. A coward like me would only get in the way…

I became aware of faint noises floating to me from down the tunnel. Curious, I looked up…

And spotted Malgum floating over the lava…

I sprang to my feet and reached for my sword, only to remember that I no longer had it.

"Cody, Cody, Cody," Malgum said, shaking his head at me. "You gave up your sword. Now why did you do a silly thing like that?"

"W-why are you h-h-here?"

My voice trembled when I spoke. Damn it…

He just shook his head again, laughing lightly to himself, "How did you like my handiwork in Kakariko? I must confess, I did not realize I would cause the entire village to go up in flames. Sometimes I amaze even myself."

I felt a spark of anger, but it was quickly suppressed by my fear.

"So Cody," Malgum said, looking up at me with a smile, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be helping your friends?"

I don't like the sound of that… I listened more carefully, and I realized that the sounds I heard were screams…

"What did you do!" I yelled at him, my fear quickly being replaced by anger.

"Oh, not much," Malgum said. His grin became downright chilling. "I just released an army of shadows that have your likeness."

Malgum laughed at the look of horror on my face. The blood had drained from my face as I stared at the psychopath floating lazily over the lava. I came to a sudden realization. Throughout my entire life, I could honestly say that I never truly hated anybody…

I am starting to think that Malgum is going to gain the honor of becoming the first person that I ever actually hated…

"Why are you doing this!" I screamed at him. "What's your plan!"

"Now, Cody," he said, shaking his finger at me. "Why would I reveal my endgame to you? Where's the fun in that?"

As he said that, he started to fade into shadow, "Hope to play with you again!"

He laughed as he vanished into shadows. I began to scream obscenities at the place where Malgum had been. I screamed for a few minutes. How could he do something like this! What kind of person could freely kill innocent people and just laugh about it!

Malgum was truly evil…

And he was using copies of me to kill more people…

I had just decided that I was giving up. I always let myself get pushed around by people, be they bullies or Malgum. They had always been better than me…

There was nothing I could do…

…

You really should just stand up for yourself.

Katie's words echoed through my head.

… She was right. I was done with being pushed around. It was time to stand up.

I decided right then and there to make a promise to myself. As long as it was within my power to do something, I would not just let another innocent person die. I would not allow Malgum to toy with me anymore.

It was time for me to get over myself… starting now.

I poured energy into the Zephyr Boots and dashed out of the room. I reached the tunnel and listened for where the most screams were coming from. I could hear some screams coming from below, so I ran downstairs.

It was utter chaos. There were a bunch of gorons running around in fear, but several of the older ones were fighting the shadows that were running about.

They really do look like me, I thought, feeling my anger bubble to the surface once again.

There were a couple of things that I noticed about these shadows. For one, they were left handed. They also happened to be armed, putting me at a disadvantage. However…

They seemed to really suck at combat.

A goron and one of the shadows were squaring off. The shadow was swinging its sword, but it was not doing much more than causing sparks off of the goron's rocky skin. The goron seemed unsure of what to do against such a non-threatening enemy. The goron finally swung one of its massive fists at the shadow, instantly destroying it.

I guess this was going to be easier than I…

The goron's fist became engulfed in shadows. I watched in horror as the corruption spread up the goron's arm. The goron panicked, swinging its arm around, trying to get the darkness off of him. It was not long before the corruption completely engulfed the goron, and he disintegrated into shadows.

I stood frozen as I watched the goron die in front of me. It almost cost me…

I became aware of another shadow approaching in my peripheral vision. I spun around as it delivered an overhead slice. The attack was so sloppy though that I was able to block with my bracer without even activating the shield. He continued delivering several slashes with his black blade, but I was able to block them all with ease. However, due to the fact that I could not attack him directly without a weapon, I was unable to do anything but block.

I really should have thought this through better…

While I was tangling with one shadow, I saw that there was another goron on the same level fighting with another. Unlike the last goron, this one was using a two-handed sword. He was much smaller though, probably just a kid (it's kind of hard for me to tell). He was swinging the sword around wildly. He obviously had no idea what he was doing, and the shadow he was fighting was starting to get more accurate.

For that matter, so was the one that I was fighting.

Fortunately, I came up with a plan.

The shadow really was getting better, and I could not see why. He was, at the very least, getting faster. During one of the breaks in the attacks, I brought my bracer up and activated the shield. The shadow's attack bounced off the shield, but that was not my intention.

"Take this you son of a-!"

The shield overloaded and a wave of energy washed over the shadow. It slammed into the wall, completely stunned. Sparks flew from my right bracer, indicating that the bracer would not be able to generate a shield for a few minutes.

I wasted no time in rushing to the goron's aid. The shadow caught sight of me, but he was too late to stop me. I swung my other bracer at him, activating and then overloading the shield in one motion. The other shadow slammed into the wall. The young goron looked on in shock, not sure what just happened.

"Give me the sword!" I yelled at him.

The goron did not react; he was still shocked by what had just happened. The first shadow had already pulled himself off the ground and was running this way, and the second shadow was just recovering.

"Give me the sword, NOW!" I screamed at him again.

The goron snapped out of it and passed me the sword. The second shadow was already on his feet and getting ready to attack. The first shadow's sword was swinging towards me…

Reacting purely on the instinct granted to me by the Dimensional Sword, I charged energy into the two-handed weapon and spun around.

Two things happened. The first was that both shadows were taken out with a single swing. The second thing…

The blade snapped off near the hilt… and the blade that fell off disintegrated along with the shadows…

To be honest, I was not sure if I should be shocked that the sword broke within seconds of me getting it, or if I should be surprised that I could charge energy into a weapon other than the Dimensional Sword.

"Hey," I said turning to the seemingly frozen goron, "What's up with this sword…"

He remained still for a minute, before he stammered, "It i-i-is the Giant's Kn-n-nife. It's not kn-nown for its d-d-durability."

"Ah… I see…"

I spun around, scanning the level I was on for more shadows, but I did not see anymore. "You should be safe for now."

The poor goron nodded, "I-I-I will g-go and hide in m-my father's room n-n-now." With that, he waddled away.

"Cody!"

I looked up and saw Via descend down from above, "Cody! Z-Zelda wants me to tell you s-something!"

"What is it? Where're Malon and Zelda?"

"Th-they're fine. They're up t-top."

I glanced up at the rim of the pit. I could hear fighting, but I could not actually see the two girls.

"I need to head up there."

I started running towards the nearest tunnel, until I heard a laugh from the bottom of the pit. I turned to look and saw another shadow at the bottom of the pit.

This one was a little bit different though. He just stood there, staring at me. He raised his hand and gestured to me.

He wanted me to come down and fight him…

I gripped the broken Giant's Knife tightly in my hand as I stared him down. I started moving slowly towards a tunnel that would lead me down to the bottom floor.

"Wait!"

Via flew right in front of me, trying to stop me, "Zelda's message involves the s-s-shadows!"

This surprised me, "Really? What does she know about the shadows?"

"The shadows start off r-relatively weak, b-b-but every time one of th-them dies, the others become more skilled and more p-powerful."

"So," I said, looking back at the shadowy version of me at the bottom of the pit. "What you're saying is that the shadow down there is about to become the most powerful thing in the room?"

"Pretty m-much."

"He's issuing a challenge to me," I said, my eyes narrowed. "He's making this personal."

"Don't go, Cody!" Via said, starting to panic. "Just wait for Zelda and M-Malon!"

At that moment, the goron that had given me the broken Giant's Knife came out of one of the tunnels.

Time seemed to stand still as the goron and the shadow noticed each other. It was happening all over again.

I was transported back to Kakariko. I was once again standing in front of the large burning building. I was left with a choice. I could do nothing, and I would be able to live. My life would not be in danger. I did not know the person that was in danger; I did not owe that person…

Or I could risk my life for this complete stranger. I could be a hero.

To be honest, I still do not believe that I am a hero. But I was not going to abandon someone when I had the ability to help.

I had just promised myself this…

It's time to keep that promise.

"Cody! W-wait!" Via shouted after me as I ran.

I ran straight for the ledge of the pit. "This is a very, bad idea," I muttered to myself.

I reached the ledge and jumped to the next level.

I hit the ground and rolled. My legs screamed in protest from the impact as I sprang back to my feet, but I pushed the pain aside and ran towards the next ledge. I jumped from that and rolled after I landed at the bottom of the pit.

The shadow had been watching the goron (who had froze as soon as he spotted the shadow), but he immediately lost interest when he noticed my arrival. I sprang to my feet, ignoring the pain that was spreading throughout my body. I gripped the handle of the broken Giant's Knife tightly and realized that I might be in trouble. If my hunch was correct, this shadow had comparable skills to the ones I gained from the Dimensional Sword. On top of that, the "sword" I was using had a pathetic reach on it, putting me at a distinct disadvantage. My left bracer was still sparking, but my right bracer had finished recharging, leaving me with one shield.

I just hoped he did not have shields of his own.

Via floated down next to me, "Are you o-okay?"

"I'll be fine."

The shadow cackled (do I cackle?) as he circled around me. I kept watch, keeping my "sword" between me and the shadow.

I glanced at the goron that was still frozen by the tunnel that he had entered from. "Get out of here!" I yelled at him.

The goron let out a frightened squeak (a squeak? Really!) and ran back into the tunnel.

"I'll help h-however I can!"

Via flew to the shadow and started circling around him. I assumed that she was trying to distract him, but he completely ignored her.

Well, at least she tried…

The shadow picked that moment to attack. He launched into a flurry of sword attacks. I was able to block the attacks with my left bracer. However, he kept far enough back that I could not reach him with my "sword." I knew that I would not be able to him if we kept this up. He swung around again, and I deflected the blow with my "sword." Another piece of the blade that still remained chipped off.

"Really!"

The shadow just laughed.

I still had my overload ability in reserve. It looks like it might be my only chance. I deflected his sword again with my left bracer and used the opportunity to jump back. I raised my right bracer and prepared to erect the shield…

The shadow seemed to disappear. He was no longer in front of me, and I did not notice him in my peripheral vision, which meant…

I spun around, activating my shield just as the shadow brought down his magic infused sword. My shield shattered. I backpedaled as the energy that was not deflected by the shield washed over me. It took all of my willpower not to cry out as I was burned by the magic. The shadow pressed his advantage, unleashing a barrage of sword attacks that I barely deflected with my bracers.

"Cody!" Via cried out in a panic.

If I did not make a move soon, then I was definitely going to be killed, and I refused to be killed by my own damn shadow.

During one of his horizontal slashes, I blocked the blow and quickly moved in. I made a thrust with my broken weapon, in the hopes of getting him in his stomach…

His free hand that I did not count on came crashing down on mine…

And I dropped the sword…

I dropped the sword…

I dropped the damn sword…

I quickly backed away, and the shadow started attacking once again, laughing at me the entire time. My left bracer was almost recovered, but if the shadow pulled the same move again, then I would be a goner…

"Cody!"

It was not Via this time; the voice came from above. I turned my head as much as I was willing to risk. On the ledge above me, was Malon. She had her arrow trained on the shadow, but he was keeping too close to me in order for her to take the shot. However, I noticed that she was carrying something…

"Malon!" I shouted at her.

"Get away from him!" she shouted back at me.

"I don't think that's gonna happen!" I shouted as I ducked one of the shadow's swings. I had to resist the urge to try and punch him after remembering what happened to the goron.

"You have to try!"

I could hear the sounds of people running down the tunnels. It was probably Zelda leading an army of gorons down into the pit. I knew that once they got down here, the shadow would waste no more time in trying to finish me off.

"Malon!" I shouted at her again. "I'm ready to accept my responsibility now!"

"What!"

I guess that now was not the time to be subtle…

"Throw me the damn sword!"

"Oh…"

She set down her bow and drew the Dimensional Sword. "Are you sure?"

"Toss it!"

Wasting no more time, she threw the blade. I watched it fly through the air towards me as if in slow motion. I knew that the shadow was not going to let me catch it, so I did the only thing that I could do…

I activated the shield on my freshly recharged left bracer and swung my arm. The shadow was forced to back away. He was not far enough away for Malon to get a shot off, but he was not close enough to stop me from catching the Dimensional Sword.

I did not know why, but something felt different. It felt as if there was more energy than before. I could also feel a peculiar burning sensation on my back. The sensation was not painful; it was almost pleasant.

I could see Zelda coming down the tunnel, followed by a bunch of angry gorons. It was time for my shadow to make his move.

The shadow charged energy into his blade and was preparing to deliver an overhead vertical slash. I ducked down, took a step forward, and swung my sword.

I did not know what just happened. I was several feet behind the shadow. I had only taken a single step. I heard a shriek behind me. I spun around to see that the shadow had collapsed onto the ground and was disintegrating. Via floated, stunned, over the spot where the shadow used to be. Everyone, even the gorons, looked at me in shock.

"Um…" I said, looking around at the crowd behind me. "What did I just do?"

Link:

"Wasn't he the one you said would run away?" Darunia asked me as we stood at the entrance to Darunia's room.

We had just made it back into the city, just in time to see Cody perform a miraculous kill at impossible speeds. I stared at where Cody was. The symbol that had appeared on his back was starting to fade away…

It was the same symbol that was on the Dimensional Blade.

"I still don't know if I can trust him Darunia," I said with a sigh, "and I certainly have not forgiven him for what he did."

Darunia shook his head, "Just remember what I said earlier, brother."

Darunia walked out into the crowd, presumably to check on the damage to the city. As I surveyed the scene, I took off my cap and scratched the back of my head. Over in the distance, I saw Zelda. She spotted me and waved. I nodded at her.

"Zelda," I said softly to myself so that nobody would hear, "I truly do hope that you are right about him."

With that, I started pushing my way through the gorons (it was akin to trying to push boulders aside) and made my way to Zelda.

I really hope you are right…

A/N: Looks like Cody is back on track, and Link might be willing to at least try to get along with the wayward human. And Cody had a new ability (though you'll find out next chapter that it has a side effect).

There are three elemental orbs left to retrieve. Will the group be able to collect them before Malgum decides to make his move? And why is he not trying so hard to stop them? What is his end game?

Review please :)